Date: September 2017 Guided Learning Hours 7 Total Qualification Time 7 Ofqual Qualification Number: 603/2395/4 Description The objective of the is to cover the principles of food hygiene for food handlers working in either a catering or retail environment. It is a valuable free standing qualification that is also suitable for learners and employees engaged in other food based vocational training and employment. The purpose of this qualification is for learners, aged from 14 upwards to obtain a knowledge and understanding of; the importance of food hygiene, associated food safety hazards, good hygiene practice and controls based upon an awareness of food safety management systems. These topics are regarded by the Food Standards Agency as being important to understanding and maintaining good practice in the handling, processing and preparation of safe food. RSPH is a Business Partner of the Craft Guild of Chefs. http://craftguildofchefs.org/ 1
Content: Summary of Outcomes 3 Content 4 Assessment 7 Centre Guidance 7 Page Recommended Reading 7 Special Needs 7 National Occupational standards Refresher Qualifications 8 8 Recommended Qualifications and Experience of Tutors Progression Opportunities Guidance on Delivery 8 8 9 Contact Details 10 2
Unit: Food Safety and Hygiene Unit Level: 2 Unit reference number: R/616/4186 Summary of Outcomes: To achieve this qualification, a candidate must: 1. Understand food safety hazards, by being able to meet the following assessment criteria: 1.1 Identify contamination and cross-contamination hazards to food safety 1.2 Explain how contamination of food can cause illness or injury 1.3 Explain the importance of personal hygiene and behaviour to food safety 1.4 Outline the legal responsibilities of food handlers and food business operators 2. Understand how to control food safety hazards, by being able to meet the following assessment criteria: 2.1 Outline safe food handling practices and procedures for: 2.1.1 Preventing or minimising the risk of cross contamination 2.1.2 Temperature control 2.1.3 Dealing with stock and deliveries to customers 2.1.4 Work flow, work surfaces and equipment 2.1.5 Keeping the work area and equipment clean and tidy 2.1.6 Dealing with hazards and potential hazards 2.1.7 Food spoilage and waste 2.1.8 Pest prevention 3
Content: 1. Understand food safety hazards 1.1 Identify contamination and cross-contamination hazards to food safety: biological, chemical, physical and allergenic hazards to food safety; examples of chemical and physical hazards and allergens; how these hazards get into food; contamination and cross-contamination; separation of raw and cooked food; contamination vehicles such as hands, cloths and equipment, hand contact surfaces, food contact surfaces; contamination routes. 1.2 Explain how contamination of food can cause illness or injury: Definition of food poisoning; causes of food poisoning; incidence of food poisoning; common symptoms; role of microorganisms in food poisoning; growth requirements of microorganisms; high risk foods; importance of toxins and spores; sources of food poisoning bacteria; at-risk groups. 1.3 Explain the importance of personal hygiene and behaviour to food safety: Food handlers as sources of, and vehicles for, food poisoning bacteria; risk to food safety due to poor personal hygiene and practices; how good personal hygiene reduces the risk of contaminating food. Purpose and types of protective clothing; design features of protective clothing to reduce the risk of contamination; importance of keeping protective clothing clean and in good condition; risk to food safety from jewellery and accessories; required standard of personal hygiene; role of the hands in transferring bacteria to food; importance of effective hand-washing practices; occasions when hands should be washed; risk to food safety of food handlers suffering from stomach upsets and other illnesses and infections; the need to report such illnesses to supervisors and/or managers; risk to food safety from cuts and wounds; need to use appropriate dressings; need to report cuts and wounds to supervisors and/or managers. 1.4 Outline the legal responsibilities of food handlers and food business operators: Effect of poor food safety to food businesses. Legal responsibilities of food business operators and food handlers; importance of legislation (EC Regulation 852/2004 on the Hygiene of foodstuffs ), The Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013, The Food Hygiene (Scotland) Regulations 2006, The Food Hygiene (Wales) Regulations 2006, The Food Hygiene Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006, or any superseding legislation; requirements for food safety management systems and food hygiene training; requirements for fitness to work; requirements relating to allergens; outline of legal sanctions and role of Authorised Officers. 4
2. Understand how to control food safety hazards 2.1 Safe food handling practices and procedures; Role and importance of food safety management systems in reducing the risk of food poisoning by identifying and controlling food safety hazards; outline of food safety systems such as Safer Food Better Business and HACCP. Controlling food safety hazards by: 2.1.1 Preventing or minimising the risk of cross contamination: Using appropriate food handling practices and procedures for reducing the risk of contamination and cross contamination from chemical and physical hazards, microorganisms and allergens by safe working practices such as handling food as little as possible, safe practices of dual use equipment in accordance with current guidance, hand washing, colour coding of equipment and cloths, correct wearing of protective clothing, washing of fruit and vegetables, use of food grade metals and separation of raw and ready to eat foods. 2.1.2 Temperature control: Importance of thorough cooking of food, control of bacterial toxins and spores, range of The Temperature Danger Zone and its importance to bacterial growth; correct temperatures for delivery, storing, defrosting, preparing, cooking, chilling, reheating, hot holding, display for sale, serving and transporting food; maintenance, monitoring and recording of these temperatures. 2.1.3 Dealing with stock and deliveries to customers: Procedures to follow when dealing with stock including, receipt of deliveries, picking, dispatch, delivery and transport, storage, date marking (current minimum durability dates), stock rotation e.g. day dot labelling, removal and reporting of unsafe food. 2.1.4 Work flow, work surfaces and equipment: Need for work surfaces, floors, walls, ceilings, sinks, wash hand basins and equipment to be constructed of appropriate materials to aid cleaning and where necessary disinfected, resist wear and damage and reduce the risk of contamination; how the design, workflow and layout of food rooms can affect hygiene standards; requirements for services and facilities. 2.1.5 Keeping the work area and equipment clean and tidy: Risk to food safety if the work area and equipment are not kept clean and tidy; definitions of clean-asyou-go, scheduled cleaning, 2 stage cleaning and disinfection cleaning frequency; uses of appropriate cleaning and disinfection chemicals (including contact time and dilution rates), materials and equipment; cleaning procedures for premises, equipment and utensils. 5
2.1.6 Dealing with hazards and potential hazards: Importance of reporting possible food safety hazards to supervisors and/or managers (to include faulty equipment, food at incorrect temperature, out-of-date stock, presence of pests, spoiled food); isolation of unsafe food; importance of record keeping; what records should be kept; frequency of recording and monitoring (to include cleaning schedules, food deliveries and temperature controls.) 2.1.7 Food spoilage and waste: Causes of food spoilage and how to recognise it; types of food waste in the workplace and how it should be safely handled; importance of waste disposal; methods and frequency of waste disposal; cleaning and location of waste bins. 2.1.8 Pest prevention: Prevention of pests such as rats, mice, cockroaches, flies, birds, stored product insects; conditions favourable to attracting pests; recognising signs of pest activity; contamination of food and surfaces by pests; preventing access to pests. 6
Assessment Attainment of the Learning Outcomes will be assessed by a multiple-choice examination. A candidate who is able to Satisfy the learning outcomes will achieve a score of at least 20 out of 30 in the examination. The multiple choice examination is provided by RSPH. The examination consists of 30 questions. The duration of the examination is forty minutes. Centre Guidance Recommended Resources: RSPH elearning for Food Safety https://www.rsph.org.uk/our-services/e-learning/courses.html Royal Society for Public Health Level 2 Food Safety Tutor Pack Donaldson, R.J. 2010. Essential Food Hygiene (4 th Edition) Special Needs: Centres that have candidates with special needs should consult The Society's Regulations and Guidance for Candidates with Special Assessment Needs; this is available from The Society and The Society's web site (www.rsph.org.uk). National Occupational Standards: This qualification is mapped to the following National Occupational Standards: IMPFS102K. Understand how to maintain personal hygiene standards in food and drink operation IMPFS104K. Understand how to maintain workplace food safety in food and drink operations IMPFS107K. Understand how to identify and report potential food hazards in food and drink operations IMPFS114K. Understand how to carry out disinfection in food and drink operations IMPFS144K. Understand how to control pests in food and drink operations Recommended Qualifications and Experience of Tutors: The Society would expect that tutors have relevant teaching/training experience and a qualification in the relevant subject area, but recognises that experienced teachers/trainers can often compensate for a lack of initial subject knowledge, or experienced practitioners for a lack of teaching experience. 7
RSPH would expect all those delivering this qualification to have relevant recent experience within the sector providing knowledge and expertise. RSPH would expect all those delivering this qualification to be regularly updated in the area of training they are delivering; this can be by: Attending CPD activities Exhibitions clearly connected to the content of this qualification E-Learning activities that can clearly show level and experience RSPH would consider any of the following as a suitable level of understanding to deliver this qualification. Tutors/trainers with experience of supervising food safety in a hospitality environment. Tutors/trainers with a background in Environmental Health. Tutors/trainers with a Level 3 qualification in Food Safety, such as RSPH Level 3 Award in Supervising Food Safety or the RSPH Level 3 Award in Food Safety for Food Manufacturing Degree, Higher National Diploma, or Higher National Certificate in Food Science, Environmental Health, Environmental Science, Microbiology Refresher Authorised officers such as environmental health officers would expect food workers to ensure that their knowledge is kept up to date. RSPH recommends refresher training within 3 years. This can be achieved by either undertaking the same qualification, or by going through our elearning offer, more information can be found on our website. Progression Opportunities: On completion of this qualification, learners will be able to gain employment within the catering sector, working in a kitchen environment, café and bar when dealing with and handling food. Successful candidates can also progress on to further qualifications, such as: RSPH Level 3 Award in Supervision of Food Safety and Hygiene (Catering) RSPH Level 3 Award in Supervision of Food Safety and Hygiene (Retail) RSPH Level 3 Award in Food Safety Supervision for Manufacturing RSPH Level 3 Award in Nutrition for Health RSPH Level 3 Award in HACCP for Food Manufacturing Centres should be registered with RSPH. 8
Guidance on Delivery: This guidance is to support tutors with providing their learners with an optimal learning experience. It is not mandatory to follow this guidance but RSPH would expect that the delivery of the course is planned appropriately with sufficient content and differentiation to ensure that learners not only have an opportunity to achieve the learning outcomes but to gain a clear overview of their role in food safety. Indicative content has been specified but tutors are also encouraged to include additional information, where relevant, that would offer added value to their learners. The information covered by this qualification may be new to some learners; however, other learners, in the same cohort, may be generally familiar with the content. Therefore, the programme needs to be planned to meet the needs of both experienced and inexperienced learners. The qualification is designed to cover the principles of food hygiene for food handlers working in catering, retail or other predominately food based environments. Understanding and controlling food safety hazards is the prevailing theme of this qualification and it is important that learners fully understand their own role in food safety which includes not only handling food hygienically but reporting food safety hazards. The overarching requirement is that learners will apply their knowledge and understanding in their work place. It is suggested that a variety of visual resources are used to illustrate the delivery of the course such as replica foods, canned foods, packaged foods, specimens of gnawed food packaging, empty containers of cleaning materials, cleaning cloths, colour coded equipment, storage containers and protective clothing. Relevant posters from the Food Standards Agency (FSA)/Food Standards Scotland (FSS) can also be used to reinforce key messages. It is recommended that discovery learning is used as a strategy, so that learners are drawing on their own experience and prior knowledge, wherever possible. Learner participation is vital for maximum involvement and it is advised that the tutor uses learning activities that require the learner to make contributions such as identifying and controlling specific food safety hazards so that they can pragmatically transfer their learning into their place of work. It is also beneficial to reference seasonal events (barbecue season, Food Safety Week, etc) to contextualise areas of learning. It is recommended that a range of learner activities are used so that various learning styles are accommodated and to enable formative learning checks. Open questions, quizzes, scenarios and gap thermometer handouts are examples but it is also advised that the tutor includes some centre-devised multiple choice questions as a learning check so that the learner is prepared for this assessment method. It is suggested that the tutor discusses the broad scope of food handling such as music festivals, air craft meals, residential care, child care nurseries, home deliveries, etc., - and how the legal framework still applies. 9
It is recommended that the legislation relating to the 14 named food allergens (Food Information Regulation 2014, no.1169/2011) is relayed in terms of how a food handler should deal with a consumer request for critical safety information. It is advised that tutors share information on toolkits such as the FSA s Safer food, better business /FSS CookSafe so that learners are prepared if it is used in their own workplace. It is also recommended that the landing pages of the FSA/FSS internet website are demonstrated (as well as the specific internet link details) so that learners have a clear pathway to gaining further information after the course. Any enquiries about this qualification should be made to: The Qualifications Department, Royal Society for Public Health, John Snow House 59 Mansell Street, London E1 8AN Tel. 0207 265 7300 Email: info@rsph.org.uk 10